H Oo E So Ci Ty

I D ODBR GE O SO W C IE E T H Y T Newsletter Spring 2016 A Thorough Mess In this Issue Within living memory the Thoroughfare was 2 Charles Notcutt 1934-2015 a two-way street for all traffic including 3 Conserving the River Deben buses and lorries. It is now one-way with The Work of the River Deben time restrictions for traffic. However anyone Association making a dispassionate assessment of it Robin Whittle must think it a mess. 9 Woodbridge - a poem Walking from the Crown to the Red Lion on a Sylvia Fairley typical day you may well pass about forty ‘A’ 9 Woodbridge Shakespeare 400 boards. Some only announce that a shop is Tim Cornford open. That level of street advertising is self- 10 Planning Matters defeating and obstructs pedestrians. Jane Brenner Couldn't shop keepers have a self-denying 11 New Street School ordinance and remove 'A' boards? The historical background Bob Merrett The street surface is also a problem. Memories of New Street School Kerbstones and pavements are often uneven Amanda Davidson and broken - in large part caused by lorries. School Places in Woodbridge Large refuse lorries collect rubbish in the Pete Mumford middle of the night. Isn't it possible to 13 The Drums of the Fore and Aft rearrange collection and delivery points away Bob Merrett from the Thoroughfare so that lorries no 14 Economic Development in Woodbridge longer put stress on the street foundations? Tim Cornford interviews Laura Hack Driving towards the narrow part of the street 15 Summer Visits for the Society from the Melton direction you are faced with Carol Wiseman a confusing plethora of road signs. Future building developments mean that yet more Editorial Tim Cornford traffic will approach that junction. Is it Production Carol Wiseman unrealistic to hope for a fully pedestrianized Photography Anthony Mather (except where stated) Thoroughfare? Alan Vaughan Charles Notcutt wrote in his appreciation of his father published in The Scotsman, "While he 1934 - 2015 travelled enthusiastically across the world to all continents, it was the Scottish Highlands which remained his true love and to which he annually returned .... He could be relied on to be in his Macpherson kilt at any significant occasion and was a lively Scottish dancer and lover of the bagpipes." Charles' work at national level has been much celebrated: the Royal Horticultural Society, the Horticultural Trades Association, the Garden Centre Association, the International Dendrology Society, horticultural education and research, his OBE and much more. Home, however, was Woodbridge and the town benefitted hugely from his energy, passion and charisma. Most recently this As members will know Charles Roger was manifested in his support for the Macpherson Notcutt, former town councillor, Whisstocks re-development. He was mayor and president of Notcutts Garden president of the town's Rotary Club, Centres, died on 1 July 2015. A service of founding chairman of the Abbeyfield Deben thanksgiving was held on 11 September in Extra Care Society, involved in the museum, St Mary's Church, which was packed to the rugby club and Otley College. He was a overflowing for the occasion. town councillor for six years and mayor in 2012-13. As his son also said, "He didn't Charles' leadership of Notcutts reflected waste his time - he was always looking something of the significant social changes forward to the next item on the agenda”. that affected England during the second half People talk about his infectious enthusiasm of the twentieth century. The business had and his enormous capacity for friendship. been created as a nursery, founded by his The Farmers' Club obituary called him a grandfather, Roger Notcutt, in 1897. He was "charming, intelligent, driven man." a vegetable grower and chrysanthemum Charming and driven are not often said of breeder. As the Daily Telegraph obituary the same person in the same sentence. "Dad observed, "As well as selling to the public, was simply a larger than life character," was Notcutts supplied large country houses with Andrew's summing up at the service. the plants and trees needed to stock their gardens .... As the great country estates declined, the business increasingly came from home owners with smaller gardens - beneficiaries of the post-war housing boom." The terminology 'garden centre' came into being and Notcutts was one of the first in England. Much was said in the obituaries of Charles' Scottish roots. His mother (Jean Macpherson) was from Edinburgh and it was there that she returned after the untimely death of her husband. As his son Andrew Charles Notcutt as Mayor of Woodbridge 2 C onserving the River Deben The work of the River Deben Association Robin Whittle The River Deben has been at the heart of the growth of Woodbridge since the twelfth century when it started to flourish as a port. Ship building and trade were well established in Elizabethan times and Woodbridge reached its zenith of importance as a port by the 17th Century. The corn trade peaked at the beginning of the 19th Century and the wharves at Woodbridge and Melton were still busy with Thames barges into the 1920s. Coal and timber were discharged at these quays until 1940. Since the Second World War the river has become increasingly used for recreation and as a sanctuary for wild-life. Woodbridge now supports many clubs (sailing, rowing, cruising, etc). Ramblers enjoy many footpaths in the area. Much of the estuary is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and protected under domestic, European and international legislation. It is also part of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (SC&H AONB). Fig 1 The River Deben from Debenham to Bawdsey The River Deben Association (RDA), To endeavour to influence the outcome of www.riverdeben.org, was founded in 1990 to disputes/differences of opinion in a way protect and conserve the character, beauty which will maximise the benefits to the and environment of the River Deben with river and its environs. the following objectives. To establish working relationships with To encourage proposals to safeguard the local authorities and other regulatory river and to support appropriate future bodies. developments. To establish contact and foster co- To resist proposals that could have a operation with river users and other detrimental impact on the river and its interested groups. environs. 3 Fig 2—Views of the Deben a) Ufford Bridge b) Brandeston Fig 3—River wall strengthening 2014/15 RDA activities As co-founder of the Deben Estuary Partnership (DEP) the RDA has contributed much effort to creating The Deben Estuary Plan (April, 2015) - details at http:// www.debenestuarypartnership.co.uk. This extends the Environment Agency’s former process of only addressing flood management, and aims to set out not only how flood risk can be managed but also how the benefits, challenges and threats to the a) Ramsholt estuary and its hinterland relate to the sustainability of the wider area. It places importance on the interrelationship of land use and the marine environment and, as with the Integrated Coastal Zone Management Strategy set out in the Suffolk Coastal District Plan, seeks to address the needs of communities and the natural environment within the context of the estuary. River wall defences Since the December 2013 floods the RDA has b) Martlesham Creek supported the DEP coordination of enhancing the strength and protection of the river walls. The objectives of this are to: prevent breaching. This is the primary responsibility of the relevant land owners and Environment Agency; ensure walls can survive over-topping; reduce the gradient of the back side of the wall; remove all trees, bushes and their roots. These cause the clay to dry out and crack; c) Waldringfield 4 encourage the planting of strong grass. There is continual pressure from owners of This allows overtopping to occur without vessels to increase the number of moorings damaging the wall; on the river. If unchecked the river could reinforce the path where it is frequently become an unsightly boat park similar to used by walkers; that of the River Hamble. The RDA is encourage the growth of saltmarsh to help concerned about the growing congestion on defend the river walls against breaching. the river in the summer, largely caused by the increased size of moored vessels and the Support for Fairway Committees increase of the mud areas in the upper The river bed, up to Mean High Water, is reaches of the river above Methersgate. It is owned by The Crown Estate, so the ground considered important to: tackle for each mooring is laid on its maintain adequate channel limits through property, for which a rent is charged. This the moorings; rent is administered through the Fairway discourage any increase in the number of Committees. They are also responsible for moorings on the river; ensuring that there is a channel wide enough discourage any decrease in the stretches of for the boat traffic to pass through the the river free of moorings. moorings. Recently The Crown Estate has issued a plan River Users’ Code of the river showing the area covered by each In 2014 the RDA, in partnership with the of the Fairway Committees - Felixstowe Suffolk Coastal District Council (SCDC) and Ferry, Ramsholt, Waldringfield and Kyson. The Crown Estate, has published a leaflet, This plan shows the coordinates of those River User’s Code (see Figure 5), which has areas free of moorings. The Deben Estuary been distributed widely in both Suffolk and Plan will be updated to include this. Essex to remind river users: to be aware of other river activities; One particular concern is the increase in of the vulnerability of the saltmarshes; high energy wake caused by large motor not to cause unnecessary disturbance to vessels travelling too fast.

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